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An amateur British archaeologist has discovered almost 300 gold coins dating from the 7th Century at a dig just outside Jerusalem’s Old City.

Birmingham woman Nadine Ross, 34, found the solid 24-carat coins under a large rock in a car park. Ms Ross is being feted for finding one of the largest and most impressive coin hoards ever discovered in Jerusalem.

“It’s very, very exciting… we’ve had pottery, we’ve had glass, but we’ve had nothing like this,” said Ms Ross, who normally works as an engineer for BMW.

Dr Doron Ben-Ami says the coins were probably hidden by someone fleeing the Persian attack on Jerusalem in the early 7th Century.

I think treasure hunts are part of what make archaeologists out of children.